A Teaching Model for International Expansion at State Comprehensive Universities

International partnerships have the potential to benefit state comprehensive universities, which, like other areas of higher education, are experiencing deep and transformative change. George Mehaffy (2010), for one, identifies the changing demographics and desires of students, the increased demand for globalization, and the lack of traditional funding sources as factors threatening the norms of higher education. Brian Denman (2007) describes the rise of world and off -shore universities in response to t he growing competition for providing education in the international market and outlines the variety of arrangements that have been established, including satellite campuses, memorandum of understanding schemes, corporate programs, international consortia and alliances, and distance education programs (p. 11-12). With regard to SCUs, these partnerships off er a mutual benefit, as the domestic institution sees increased enrollment and the associated revenue stream, while the international partners and students are able to access critical curriculum and programs that otherwise would not be offered at their institutions (Altbach and Knight, 2007). At the same time, and especially given the competition, it is important that international partnerships are designed correctly from the beginning. Rovai and Downey (2010) provide several areas where some distance education programs fail and others are successful in this global competition, including planning, faculty development, online course design and pedagogy, and quality assurance.